On May 10, 2026, I photographed the rose garden of Kyoto Botanical Gardens under a completely cloudless sky, arriving before opening time to capture the morning light. These photographs surpass yesterday’s work by far and represent my finest achievement so far. Music: Sibelius — Karelia Suite. A visual poem of roses, blue sky, and the transparent air of Kyoto.

May 10, 2026.
The rose garden of Kyoto Botanical Gardens.
A completely cloudless blue sky.
Yesterday was sunny, but it was not a perfect clear sky.
That is precisely why I wanted, no matter what, to photograph the rose garden of Kyoto Botanical Gardens once again today.
The garden opens at 9 a.m.
Both yesterday and today, I aimed to be the very first visitor at opening time.
Yesterday I arrived 15 minutes early.
Today, I arrived 25 minutes early and waited in front of the Kitayama Gate.
Among those entering from the Kitayama Gate, I was the first person to reach the rose garden.
Of course, the main gate is closer to the rose garden.
So perhaps I was actually the third person to step into the garden itself.
But that was more than enough.
A morning under a completely cloudless sky.
A rose garden still quiet and nearly empty.
The brilliance of the flowers.
The transparency of the greenery.
The blue of the sky.
There were photographs today that could only be taken today.
Incidentally, not many people travel from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto by Shinkansen.
The Special Rapid train reaches Kyoto in about 24 minutes.
And it runs every fifteen minutes.
Normally, that would be more than sufficient.
However, on weekend mornings, the Special Rapid trains are extremely crowded.
And to be honest, I was rather sleepy.
If one aims to arrive first at opening time, standing all the way to Kyoto is not particularly pleasant.
So, having no other choice, I traveled back and forth between Shin-Osaka and Kyoto by Shinkansen.
Traveling by bullet train solely for photographing a rose garden.
Even I have to laugh a little at myself.
But perhaps that alone proves the level of passion contained in today’s photographs.
It is no exaggeration to say that I am one of the people who has photographed this rose garden more than anyone else.
And yet, my photographing time today lasted only one hour.
There were years when I visited Kyoto Botanical Gardens ten times during the rose season alone.
And today, after transferring the photographs to my computer and seeing them properly, I became convinced.
Today’s photographs are on an entirely different level from yesterday’s.
A deep gulf separates yesterday from today.
There is a saying: “If you have not seen a man for three days, look upon him with new eyes.”
That is exactly how it feels.
Yesterday’s photographs were, so to speak, merely a trial run after returning to the rose garden for the first time in a year.
But today’s photographs are different.
The light.
The sky.
The roses.
The compositions.
The atmosphere itself.
Everything surpasses yesterday completely.
At this moment, these are the finest rose garden photographs I have ever taken at Kyoto Botanical Gardens.

Jean Sibelius
Karelia Suite
Sibelius: Karelia Suite.
Conducted by Paavo Jarvi.
Audio source from YouTube.